Aron Ralston to be Featured Speaker at Conservation Alliance Breakfast

Aron Ralston has been announced as the featured speaker at The Conservation Alliance Breakfast during the summer OR show. Ralston is known as the hiker who had his hand pinned by a boulder while hiking in Utah's canyon country and, after six days, had to self amputate to reach rescue.

The breakfast and presentation will be open to the public on August 3 and will be held at The Marriott in Salt Lake City. Since his accident and the subsequent motion picture Ralston has used his fame to advocate for the protection of wilderness areas in Utah and Colorado. His talk will touch upon his accident and then need to protect wilderness spaces.

Ralston still takes advantage of open spaces with his adventure lifestyle. Using prosthetic arms he designed, Ralston has done solo winter ascents of Colorado's 59 Fourteeners, skied from the summit of Denali and rafted through the Grand Canyon.

The breakfast will also feature a review of grants the organization makes during its Winter 2012 funding cycle and a discussion of the successes of past grant recipients.